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Lesia Tsurenko and Ana Bogdan made a little bit of Wimbledon history, breaking the record for the longest tiebreaker played in a women's singles match during their epic third-round contest on Friday.
Tsurenko ousted her opponent after a grueling 38 points, winning the winner-takes-all breaker 20-18. The overall scoresheet read 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (18) after three hours and 40 minutes of mind-boggling tennis.
Shortly after the contest, ITF media took to social media to announce the new record.
In a Tweet from their account, the final-set tiebreaker was officially declared the longest of a women's singles match at not just Wimbledon but all Grand Slams.
"At 38 points, the final-set tiebreak between Lesia Tsurenko and Ana Bogdan (won by Tsurenko 20-18) is the longest tiebreak in a Grand Slam women's singles match in history," the ITF post read.
Both Tsurenko and Bogdan could be seen battling cramps and fatigue towards the end of the epic tiebreaker. That, however, did not stop either of them from going all out to save one match point after the other.
While the Romanian showed just why her backhand is one of the Tour's most underrated weapons—saving two match points with unreal down-the-line winners off the wing—her opponent held her ground with her heavy forehand.
In a separate tweet, the ITF revealed that the Tsurenko-Bogdan breaker overlasted the previous record holder by two points.
The previous record was held by a 36-point shootout played between former British No. 1 Johanna Konta and Denisa Allertova at the 2015 French Open.
The latter had come out on top on the occasion, prevailing 19-17 in what was a titanic first-round tussle between the two players.
"The previous longest tiebreak in a Grand Slam women's singles match was 36 points - in the first set of Denisa Allertova's victory against Johanna Konta in the 1st round at 2015 Roland Garros," the ITF media tweet read.
Lesia Tsurenko-Ana Bogdan Wimbledon tiebreaker equals Andy Roddick record
Lesia Tsurenko and Ana Bogdan's Wimbledon tiebreaker also officially equaled the longest at a Grand Slam match, men's or women's, the ITF revealed in a third tweet.
Sharing details, the tennis body revealed that the longest ever tiebreaker played at a Slam—one featuring former World No. 1 Andy Roddick and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga—also went on for 38 points.
"It is the joint-longest tiebreak in a Grand Slam singles match - alongside the 38-point tiebreak in the 1st set of Andy Roddick's victory against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the 1st round at the 2007 Australian Open. (NB Roddick lost the tiebreak but won the match)," another tweet added.
Tsonga had come out victorious in the tiebreaker on that occasion, but it was Roddick who managed to turn things around and take the match. The two were competing for a spot in the second round of the 2007 Australian Open.
